Legal paperwork
Marrying in Italy as a US or UK citizen, in the order it has to happen.
Five things, none of them optional for a civil rite and none of them able to be hurried. The dates below come from the same list your planner's own schedule is built from, so this page cannot promise a lead time the plan does not hold.
The timeline
| Due | What | Whose | Why it cannot slip |
|---|---|---|---|
| 300 days | Book the comune The civil rite is booked with the comune. Slots in the popular comuni go a year ahead. | Your planner | The comune has confirmed your date and hour in writing. |
| 120 days | Nulla osta The declaration from your own consulate that there is no impediment to your marriage. Required for every non-resident foreign national marrying in Italy. | Yours | You hold the original document. |
| 105 days | Legalisation The nulla osta and your birth certificates are legalised for use in Italy. | Yours | Every document carries its apostille or consular legalisation. |
| 90 days | Sworn translation Every foreign document is translated by a translator the court accepts. An ordinary translation is refused. | Your planner | The comune has accepted the translated file. |
| 85 days | Sworn interpreter An Italian civil rite requires a sworn interpreter when either party does not speak Italian. It is a legal requirement, not an upsell. | Your planner | The interpreter is booked for your hour. |
Days before the wedding. The comune booking is first because a slot is a slot: in the popular comuni they go a year ahead and no amount of money creates another one.
Civil or symbolic
Only one of these is a marriage.
A civil rite is a legal marriage, conducted by an official of the comune. It needs every document above, and the comune charges its own published tariff, which we carry as a line at €700 net.
A symbolic ceremony is not a marriage. It can happen anywhere, on any date, with no paperwork at all, and a great many couples marry at home first and hold the symbolic ceremony in Italy in front of everybody. Neither is better than the other. They are different things, and which one you want determines whether any of the table above applies to you.
The interpreter
A legal requirement, not an upsell.
An Italian civil rite requires a sworn interpreter when either party does not speak Italian. It is the law, not a service being sold to you, and it is on your estimate as a line at €450 net from the moment you say the ceremony is civil. Couples discover this one late more often than anything else on this page.
This is procedure, not legal advice. Requirements are published by your own consulate and by the comune you marry in, and a planner confirms both before anything is booked.
Compose your weddingLast changed 2026-08-07.